Interlochen Center for the Arts

Interlochen Center for the Arts ( IN-tər-lock-ən; also known as ICA or Interlochen and previously known as the National Music Camp) is an American non-profit corporation which operates arts education programs and performance venues. Established in 1928 by Joseph E. Maddy, Interlochen Center for the Arts is located on a 1,200-acre (490 ha) campus in Green Lake Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan, immediately south of the eponymous community of Interlochen and about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Traverse City. History In 1925, Music Supervisors National Conference President Edgar B. Gordon asked conductor and educator Joseph E. Maddy to assemble talented high school musicians from around the US to perform at the conference's 1926 gathering in Detroit, Michigan. The resulting ensemble, the National High School Orchestra, performed at Detroit's Orchestra Hall on April 16, 1926. The orchestra was asked to reconvene in 1927 and 1928. In 1927, Maddy incorporated the National High School Orchestra Camp, and began searching for ideal locations, eventually narrowing it down to sites in Maine and Michigan. He was invited by Interlochen businessman Willis Pennington to tour his hotel and summer camp properties, adjacent to Interlochen State Park (Camp Interlochen and Camp Penn Loch, for boys and girls, respectively). Maddy chose the site, and, in 1928, the first season of the National High School Orchestra Camp convened. In 1932, the Camp changed its name to the National Music Camp; despite the addition of other artistic disciplines, the name remained until 1991, when it was updated to Interlochen Arts Camp. In 1944, Maddy purchased Camps Interlochen and Penn Loch, absorbing them into the National Music Camp. Interlochen Arts Academy, a year-round arts boarding school affiliated with the Camp and housed on the same campus, opened in 1962. The school, which combines college-preparatory academics with conservatory-caliber arts training, was the first of its kind in the United States. In 1963, Interlochen Public Radio (WIAA) started to broadcast. Originally broadcasting eight hours per day, it grew enough within a decade to become a charter member of National Public Radio. Interlochen Public Radio became a network in 1989 with the addition of WICV. Interlochen bought contemporary Christian station WDQV in 2005 and converted it into a third satellite for the eastern portion of the market, WIAB. Interlochen Public Radio Interlochen Center for the Arts is home to Interlochen Public Radio (or IPR), a National Public Radio member station that broadcasts a signal to most of the lower peninsula of Northern Michigan as well as parts of eastern Wisconsin. Two listener-supported stations broadcast to northwest Michigan: Classical Music 88.7, 88.5, 94.7 and 100.9 FM; and News Radio 91.5, 90.1 and 89.7 FM. Broadcasts include arts programming, news and culture from around the world, as well as local and regional news. IPR was a charter member of National Public Radio. Founded in 1963, Interlochen Public Radio or WIAA was envisioned as an extension of the Music From Interlochen program which ran on the NBC radio network. The Music From Interlochen program informed a wider audience about the activities at the then-named National Music Camp and the nascent Interlochen Arts Academy. The station was slow to catch on in its early years and some considered shutting down the operation. Interlochen Public Radio went on to establish itself with two service channels: one for music and one for news. In 1993, Interlochen Public Radio reportedly had one of the highest rates of per capita contributions of any public radio station in the United States. The station's classical music service is broadcast from their main tower at WIAA 88.7 FM in Interlochen, along with WIAB 88.5 FM in Mackinaw City, and W234BU 94.7 FM in Traverse City. In 2000, IPR began offering a separate news service on WICA 91.5 FM in Traverse City, and later added WLMN 89.7 FM in Manistee and WHBP 90.1 FM in Harbor Springs. Programs Interlochen Center for the Arts is the umbrella organization that encompasses summer program Interlochen Arts Camp, arts boarding high school Interlochen Arts Academy, National Public Radio (NPR) charter station Interlochen Public Radio, performance series Interlochen Presents, adult arts program Interlochen College of Creative Arts, online arts program Interlochen Online, and lodging and dining provider Interlochen Hospitality. Artistic majors at Interlochen Arts Academy include music (vocal and instrumental) dance, theatre, visual arts, creative writing, film and new media, and interdisciplinary arts. The summer camp includes majors in fashion design and opera. Sustainability In 2019, Interlochen Center for the Arts was recognized by the US Department of Education as a Green Ribbon School, making progress in the areas of sustainability, environmental impact reduction, and the health and well-being of its staff and students. Interlochen is committed to creating and enacting a Climate Action Plan that places emphasis on learning and engagement, sustainable operations, and buildings and operations. Interlochen uses green solar energy, and has charging stations for vehicles on campus, water-bottle filling stations, and uses local and regional foods. Interlochen has a botanical lab and community garden, with permaculture, an orchard, native plants, mushrooms, poly tunnels and raised beds, chickens, aquaponics and a honeybee apiary. Interlochen has industrial compost facilities built in 2019. The compost facility processes tons of food waste in combination with dried leaves and woodchips that are collected each year on campus during fall leaf pickup and chipped, downed branches and trees. The compost is used on campus. Awards and accolades In 2006, Interlochen Center for the Arts was named recipient of the National Medal of Arts from then-president George W. Bush. In 2021, Interlochen Center for the Arts became the 14th musical organization inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Former Interlochen students are recipients of some of the top arts industry awards in the world, with the Center's alumni receiving 29 Emmy Awards, 158 Grammy Awards, 36 Tony Awards, and Jimmy Awards. More than 50 Interlochen students have been recognized as Presidential Scholars in the Arts, more than 700 YoungArts Winners, hundreds of students earn recognition as Scholastic Winners in Art & Writing, as well as several other prestigious competitions and programs. Interlochen alumni Mary Oliver, Tom Kitt, George Crumb, Beverly Gage, and Margo Jefferson, have received the Pulitzer Prize, as well as over a dozen finalists. In 2024, Interlochen Public Radio's podcast Points North earned recognition from the national Edward R. Murrow Award, which recognized the podcast's excellence in journalism. In 2025, Niche recognized Interlochen as the #1 best high school for the arts in the nation. Interlochen's Sustainability Department has earned numerous awards and recognitions, including Michigan Green Schools, US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, and holds certificates with Certified Naturally Grown, USDA People's Garden, Michigan Agricultural Environmental Program, and more. Gallery Controversies Sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell used the summer camp to find underage girls according to the United States Department of Justice. Epstein had attended Interlochen summer camp in 1967, when he was a teenaged bassoon player. Beginning in 1990, Epstein donated more than USD $400,000 to Interlochen. Contributions ended by 2008 when the relationship was terminated. In 2024, Interlochen hired a law firm to investigate reports that staff and faculty sexualy abused students. The investigation's scope was expanded to include Jeffrey Epstein's activities. They found 70 accounts of sexual conduct by 47 faculty and staff members, spanning from the 1950s through the 2010s. Interlochen posted the full report on their website. Notable alumni Faculty and guest artists Lauren Bernofsky - composer Allen Britton - educator Van Cliburn – pianist, 1961–2007 Roderick Cox - conductor George Crumb - composer, 1957, 1958, and 1961 Albert Austin Harding - director of bands Leslie B. Dunner - director of academy orchestras Richard Ellsasser - organist and composer Percy Grainger – composer and pianist, on faculty 1930–44 Louis Langrée - conductor Cecil Leeson - saxophonist Howard Hanson – composer and conductor, visiting conductor 1928–31; composed the "Interlochen Theme", which was later used in his Symphony No.2 Marie Hartwig - camp counselor John S. Hilliard - composer Milt Jackson - jazz vibraphonist Jerry Junkin - conductor Dennis Kim - violinist Homer Keller - composer Casey Kriechbaum - composer Yo Yo Ma - cellist who embarked on national tour with orchestra Joseph E. Maddy – conductor and music educator, founder of the academy Gary Lee Nelson - composer William Chapman Nyaho – pianist, current faculty Jung-Ho Pak – conductor, director of orchestras since 2003 Itzhak Perlman - violinist, 1989-95 Vincent Pezzi - bassoonist Susan Poser - administrator John Philip Sousa - conductor and composer Daniel Stolper – oboist, visited 1972 Chris Thile - singer-songwriter Carolyn Watson – conductor, director of orchestras since 2013 Paul W. Whear - composer Jerome Wiesner - electrical engineer References Further reading Boal, Dean (August 1998). Interlochen: A Home for the Arts. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10882-4. Browning, Norma Lee (1992). Joe Maddy of Interlochen. Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-3907-8. Feild, Thom (August 2006). Pine Nuts - Recollections of Summers at Interlochen. Thom Feild Design LLC. ISBN 0-9786677-0-0. External links Official website "I Found Myself at Band Camp" photo essay on the Interlochen Arts Camp, New York Times, 2021 The Association of Boarding Schools profile for the Interlochen Arts Academy There's Magic in Music (1941) at IMDb Pine Nuts book website